Wire uncoiling apparatus



Sept. 6, 1936 A. a... PERREN ETAL 3,276,981

WIRE UNCOILING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 5mINVENTOR. 7 ARCH/E L. PERREN EDMUND f-FA/VK MOKE'RS/(Y BY MITCHELL .1.SHEPARD MM wiw A T TORNE Y5 p 6, 1965 A. 1.. PERREN ETAL 3,270,983

WIRE UNCOILING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

ARCH/E L. PERRE/V EDMUND FRANK MOGRSK) MITCHELL J. SHEPARD MM mam A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,270,981 WIRE UNCOILING APPARATUS ArchieLee Perren, Lemont, Edmund Frank Mokersky,

Chicago, and Mitchell J. Shepard, Hinsdale, Ill., assignors, by mesneassignments, to Rockwell-Standard Corporation, a corporation of DelawareFiled Jan. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 340,339 2 Claims. (Cl. 242-128) Thepresent invention relates to dispensing apparatus and more particularlyto wire dispensing and uncoiling apparatus.

In the metal manufacturing industries which use wire for furtherprocessing or consumption, it is customary to unwind the wire to be usedfrom a roll placed on a rotatable reel. Due to the inherent tendency ofthe coiled wire to unwind of its own accord and to the rotation of thecoiled Wire with the reel, it often happens that the mechanism jams andtangles, causing an interruption of the wire feed, thereby necessitatingstopping of the work operation for which the wire is being used.Frequently the wire becomes entangled, kinked and even knotted when itis uncoiled because the separate convolutions of wire coils are not ofuniform diameter. In some instances, abrupt interruptions of the wirefeed cause the wire to break or weaken the wire which may break duringthe subsequent work operation. This causes additional downtime of themachine to which the wire is being fed and usually requires re-threadingthe machine.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provideimproved wire uncoiling apparatus in which the roll of coiled wire isheld stationary in a stationary receptacle and is dispensed therefrom insuch a way as to prevent the wire from breaking or becoming entangled orkinked.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an openframe type receptacle having a center post for receiving and locating aroll of coiled wire adapted to feed therefrom without interruption.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel wireguiding means for feeding a wire from a wire coil contained within astationary receptacle in a manner to prevent the wire from becomingentangled.

Still another object resides in the provision of means within astationary receptacle to prevent a roll of coiled wire placed thereinfrom uncoiling when the wire is fed from the receptacle.

Other objects and novel features of the present invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present novel wire dispensing anduncoiling apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section through the apparatus along line 22 ofFIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

With reference to the drawings, the receptacle of the present inventionincludes a flat round base 12 which may be of wood or other lightmaterial, An upwardly projecting tubular post 16 is secured to thecenter of the base by screws 14. symmetrically spaced around the outeredge of the base 12 are three identical pins 18.

Pins 18 on base 12 serve to locate and support the hollow legs 20 of atubular frame assembly 22. Attached as by welding or other meansinwardly of the legs 20 is circular rim 24 of sheet metal resting upon arip 26 which adds stability to the frame and the rim 24.

The legs 20 of the frame 22 extend upwardly and are then bent inwardlyto converge toward each other to meet at the vertical center of thestructure above the center post 16. The three horizontal sections of thelegs 20 are welded as at 32 to a vertical bushing 30 in axial align-3,270,981 Patented Sept. 6, 1966 ment with the center post 16. Slidablycarried by the bushing 30 is a tube 34 which may be adjusted up or downwithin the bushing 30 to accommodate wire rolls of different height. Thetube is clamped in proper position by a set screw 36.

The upper end of the tube 34 is threaded to receive a cap 38 which inturn receives a removable nipple 40 having an orifice 42. The nipple 40forms a guide throat through which the wire W may be withdrawn from thereceptacle. The nipple 40 may be replaced by other nipples having largeror smaller orifices to accommodate wires of different gaugemeasurements.

The lower end of the tube 34 is threaded to receive an adapter 44 whichcarries an antifriction bearing 46. Attached to the inner race of thebearing 46 as by swaging, upsetting, brazing or any other convenientmethod is a wire guiding tube 50 of relatively small diameter which isbent in a curve downwardly and outwardly towards the outermost coil ofthe coiled wire roll 28 and then substantially in concentric relation tothe rim 24 of the frame 22. The wire guiding tube 50 is preferably ofcopper or other soft metal to be easily bent into the desired curvedshape for easiest uncoiling of the wire from the roll. Copper or othersoft metal for the wire guiding tube is furthermore preferred to preventany scratching of the wire during uncoiling. It will be seen that thewire guiding tube 50 is free to rotate within the frame 22 so that theroll of coiled wire W will remain stationary during unwinding with thewire guiding tube continuously rotating in a direction opposite to thatin which the wire is being extracted.

The lower end of the wire guiding tube 50 is provided with a flared outorifice 52 to facilitate threading of the wire into the tube and toeliminate any sharp edges which may scratch or otherwise damage the wireW when being extracted.

A roll of loosely coiled wire W is initially placed on the base 12 whenthe frame 22 is removed. The frame 22 is then put back on the base 12 byplacing the hollow legs over the support pins 18. The rim 24 preventsthe wire from uncoiling by itself.

Usually the top of the wire coil is above the rip 26. To extract thewire W from the receptacle 10 the end of the coiled wire roll isthreaded through the orifice 52 into the wire guiding tube 50 from whichthe wire is pushed up through the central tube 34 and out through thenipple 40. When the free end of the wire is pulled the wire is steadilyand easily uncoiled from the roll without tangling, jamming or breakingof the wire. The wire guiding tube 50 automatically positions itself byrotation in a circular path around the periphery of the wire coil andtowards the uncoiled portion of the wire. Thus, no direct pull isexerted on the wire roll itself and the possibility of the wire becomingentangled or knotted is eliminated. The wire guiding tube, as itrotates, loosens each convolution of wire and lifts it in continuoussuccession from the remainder of the roll thus greatly facilitating thewithdrawal of the wire from the receptacle 10 effectively avoidingsnarling or kinking of the wire.

Thus, it will be seen that the present invention provides an effectiveuncoiling apparatus for coiled wire to eliminate interruption of thewithdrawal of the wire due to entangling or knotting of the wire.

Furthermore, because of the stationary receptacle, maintenance isreduced and floor space is minimized because the device can be placed inany convenient location near the place where the wire is being used forfurther processing.

The device is completely maintenance free since the only moving part,the bearing for the wire guiding tube, may be sealed for life.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for feeding a wire from a coil comprising a base on whichsaid coil may rest, a frame structure detachably carried by said baseand extending upwardly therefrom, an essentially cylindrical wallcarried by said frame structure for confining said wire coil, a hollowtubular support member fixedly supported by said frame structure inaxial alignment with said coil, a fixed exit throat member carried bythe upper end of said hollow support member, hollow tubular wire guidemeans, means carried by the lower end of said hollow support membersupporting said guide means for rotation coaxially of said coil, saidhollow tubular guide means having an internal passage for said wire,said guide means having an inlet portion extending essentiallytangentially of said coil, an outlet portion extending axially of saidcoil, and a smoothly, curved intermediate portion connecting said inletand outlet portions, said outlet portions communicating with theinterior of said support member whereby when said Wire is pulled throughsaid exit throat member, said guide means is caused to move in thedirection opposite to the direction in which said wire is coiled andsaid wire passes through said guide means, thence along the length ofsaid hollow support member and through said fixed exit throat member.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said frame structureincludes a bushing extending coaxially of said coil and said supportmember is supported in said bushing for vertical sliding movement,together with means on said bushing for adjustably locking said tubularmember against rotation and axial movement in a desired adjustedposition.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,312,058 8/1919Smirle 242128 1,677,167 7/1928 Borgeson 242-128 2,319,828 5/ 1943Rohweder 242128 2,605,060 7/ 1952 Bell 242128 2,629,566 2/ 1953 King242128 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

L. D. CHRISTIAN, Assistant Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR FEEDING A WIRE FROM A COIL COMPRISING A BASE ON WHICHSAID COIL MAY REST, A FRAME STRUCTURE DETACHABLY CARRIED BY SAID BASEAND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM, AN ESSENTIALLY CYLINDRICAL WALLCARRIED BY SAID FRAME STRUCTURE FOR CONFINING SAID WIRE COIL, A HOLLOWTUBULAR SUPPORT MEMBER FIXEDLY SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAME STRUCTURE INAXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID COIL, A FIXED EXIT THROAT MEMBER CARRIED BYTHE UPPER END OF SAID HOLLOW SUPPORT MEMBER, HOLLOW TUBULAR WIRE GUIDEMEANS, MEANS CARRIED BY THE LOWER END OF SAID HOLLOW SUPPORT MEMBERSUPPORTING SAID GUIDE MEANS FOR ROTATING COAXIALLY OF SAID COIL, SAIDHOLLOW TUBULAR GUIDE MEANS HAVING AN INTERNAL PASSAGE FOR SAID WIRE,SAID GUIDE MEANS HAVING AN INLET PORTION EXTENDING ESSENTIALLYTANGENTIALLY OF SAID COIL, AN OUTLET PORTION EXTENDING AXIALLY OF SAIDCOIL, AND A SMOOTHLY, CURVED INTERMEDIATE ORTION CONNECTING SAID INLETAND OUTLET PORTIONS, SAID OUTLET PORTIONS COMMUNICATING WITH THEINTERIOR OF SAID SUPPORT MEMBER WHEREBY WHEN SAID WIRE IS PULLED THROUGHSAID EXIT THROAT MEMBER, SAID GUIDE MEANS IS CAUSED TO MOVE IN THEDIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH SAID WIRE IS COILED ANDSAID WIRE PASSES THROUGH SAID GUIDE MEANS, THENCE ALONG THE LENGTH OFSAID HOLLOW SUPPORT MEMBER AND THROUGH SAID FIXED EXIT THROAT MEMBER.